UK Law Firm Locks Down Client Data with Fortinet

Fortinet, a network security provider and supplier of unified threat management (UTM) solutions, has announced that TWM Solicitors, a UK-based law firm, has chosen Fortinet's FortiGate network security systems to safeguard its corporate network and protect the private information of over 13,000 individual client accounts from external attacks, identity fraud and data leakage. TWM will also centralise its security management and reporting functions with Fortinet's FortiAnalyzer appliance to help monitor and maintain user policies, identify attack patterns, and meet compliance regulations.

Alan Barrett, Head of IT at TWM Solicitors states, "It is vital we protect the corporate, personal and case information of our clients to the highest degree. Attacks on corporate networks have become far more covert than ever before so we need to be vigilant in securing against both external and internal threats. It was absolutely key that we found a solution that would provide protection beyond the network edge. Besides firewall, we needed granular visibility into all network activities in order to protect against potential data leakage and identity theft."

A key requirement for TWM was an integrated security solution that incorporated data leakage prevention (DLP) to help identify and prevent the communication of sensitive information outside of network boundaries. In addition, the solution needed strong levels of application control that could apply tight security levels right down to interactive Web 2.0 tools. Critically, TWM's solution needed to provide this functionality as well as core security functions, including reliable VPN for the dispersed workforce, without negatively impinging on network performance.

FortiGate-110Cs will also be deployed within its data centre for disaster recovery purposes, to ensure all users can consistently work securely from any location. Finally, TWM chose the FortiAnalyzer-400B to obtain granular and customised security reports, including information on traffic, events, virus, attacks, Web content, and email data-mining. This will help TWM determine the organisation's security stance at all times and ensure that industry compliance targets are met.

With roll-out expected for completion by the end of 2009, Fortinet will form a scalable and robust security infrastructure at TWM. Robert Holmes, Systems Manager at TWM Solicitors states, "During testing, Fortinet immediately outshone our incumbent solution, identifying numerous threats that were passing through our existing firewall. We were also impressed with the granularity and policy control features of the solution." Holmes adds "With e-service adoption being the next step for the legal industry, it was important that our new security infrastructure would be able to manage all the additional security challenges and network demands that this industry evolution brings. We're confident that our integrated security strategy with Fortinet provides the right combination of broad security, performance and scalability to support our future business goals."

Paul Judd, UK & Ireland regional director of Fortinet, comments, "Law firms hold valuable client and corporate data and it is absolutely critical that their security infrastructure can protect users and data from the inside-out. With Fortinet, TWM Solicitors now has a tightly integrated and robust security solution to protect its corporate network and ensure data integrity and regulatory compliance."